So you think you’re sufficiently recovered from Armory Week? Good, because the next major entry in the New York art-world calendar, Asia Week (March 15–24), is already upon us.

Forty-five of the world’s best Asian galleries are setting up shop in New York for 10 days, most in Midtown and the Upper East Side, and all free to visitors. Offerings are as wide-ranging and diverse as the continent itself: Asian porcelain, jewelry, textiles, paintings, ceramics, sculpture, bronzes, prints, photography, and jade, with ancient artifacts as well as contemporary designs, from China, Japan, and Korea, to India, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia.

On the auction house side, Bonhams and Christie’s will each hold six sales, while Sotheby’s is going all out with 11 auctions, plus two separate viewing exhibitions. The area’s institutions are also getting in on the action, with 19 participating museums and Asian cultural institutions.

As always, lest things get too overwhelming, artnet News is here to guide you through all the arty goings-on with a list of the highlights.

GALLERIES

“Three Giants: Kamoda Shoji, Matsui Kosei and Wada Morihiro” at Joan B. Mirviss, Ltd.
Works from three of Japan’s most accomplished clay artists are on display to coincide with Asia Week; the works of Shoji, Kosei, and Morihiro are functional and innovative objects, each with their own individual style.

The artist Zao Wou-Ki, best known for blending the styles of Western artists like Pierre Soulange and Sam Francis with traditional Chinese practices, is the subject of a show opening this week. Despite being most notable for his oil paintings Zao Wou-Ki used a variety of mediums, including watercolor, ink on paper, and porcelain.

“Chittaprosad: A Retrospective” at DAG
A retrospective featuring the work of the Indian artist Chittaprosad Bhattacharya, most well-known for his unflinching illustration of the Bengal Famine of 1943. Chittaprosad was a self-taught artist and member of the Communist Party of India, and his politically charged work is considered an invaluable document of the country’s history.

Scenes from the Life of Padmasambhava (19th century) Tibet. Courtesy of the Rubin Museum of Art.

“The Second Buddha: Master of Time” at the Rubin Museum
In keeping with the Rubin Museum’s year-long exploration of “The Future,” this show explores how time was articulated through the story of legendary Indian master Padmasambhava, considered to be the “Second Buddha.” It is believed that Padmasambhava helped to convert Tibetans to Buddhism, and his teachings remain central in Tibetan arts.

Spirit Shrine from the Joseon dynasty (1811). Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum.

“Arts of Korea” at the Brooklyn Museum
The newly revamped second floor showcases a selection from one of the largest Korean art collections in the United States. Highlights include jewelry from the Silla kingdom, garments, textiles, and decoration from the Joseon dynasty, and the much-lauded ceramics from the Goryeo dynasty.

“Unknown Tibet: The Tucci Expeditions and Buddhist Painting” at the Asia Society
The famed collection of Italian scholar Giuseppe Tucci includes paintings from his travels to Tibet between 1926–1948, plus his personal photographic documentation of the journeys. For the first time, the collection is on view in the United States thanks to the Italian Museum of Civilization/Museum of Oriental Art.

“Passion. Continued: A Wave of Peace From Korea to the World” at the Korean Cultural Center
The Winter Olympic Games might be over, but the Korean Cultural Center isn’t done celebrating the “Olympic Wave” surge in arts and culture associated with the PyeongChang Games. “Passion. Continued” features work by 200 artists, each from countries hosting the games; Korea (PyengChang, Winter 2018), Japan (Tokyo, Summer 2020), China (Bejing, Winter 2020).

A selection of works from the Dharmapala Thangka Center, courtesy of the Tibet House.

“Divine Feminine: New Masterpieces from Nepal” at the Tibet House
Illustrations of female icons are on display in a new selection of work from the Dharmapala Thangka Center in Nepal; the female form in Tibetan art can be manifested in many ways, including protectors and historical figures.

“Akari: Sculpture by Other Means” at the Noguchi MuseumIsamu Noguchi created “Akari,” a series of lamps in the early 1950s, at the request of a small-town mayor who sought the designer’s help to reinvigorate local craftsmen, whose industry was decimated during the war. In this exhibition, Noguchi’s innovative creations are on display alongside advertisements, brochures, and photography pertaining to the commercial brand that helped revolutionize contemporary design.

A fabric sample collected by Margaret Mead in Bali, Indonesia. Courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History.

“Fabricating Power with Balinese Textiles” at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery
A selection of rare textiles culled from the fieldwork of anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, the materials in this show are objects of both ceremony and function and provide insight to the unique culture of the island of Bali.

“Dramatic Threads: Textiles of Asia” at the Newark Museum
The Newark Museum highlights the diversity of Asian embroidery, from luxury imports of gold and silk to home-woven fabrics in simpler cotton, with decorative as well as architectural textiles. By highlighting these differences, the show will tease out the distinct regional histories that gave rise to different color preferences, stitches, and techniques.

Wu Man and Huayin Shadow Puppet Band at the New York Society for Ethical Culture
The Asia Society presents a soaring presentation of both traditional and contemporary music from Grammy Award-nominated musician Wu Man, the world’s most acclaimed player of the pipa, an over-2,000-year-old lute-like Chinese instrument. Her collaborations with artists across disciplines have allowed her to reach wider audiences as she works to break through cultural and musical borders. The Huayin Shadow Puppet Band will draw on Chinese folk tales for their performance, singing and playing a variety of instruments rarely heard in the US.

Location: New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th StreetPrice: $35–65Date and Time: March 17, 8 p.m.–9:30 p.m.

Tomoko Aka Boshi, Danielle Ivory, and Hiroko Tabuchi at the Asia Week New York Reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo courtesy of Annie Watt.

Asia Week New York 2018 Reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Met celebrates Asia Week with its exclusive annual cocktail party, on the calendar of every curator, auction house expert, and collector in town for the occasion. It’s also the perfect opportunity to enjoy all seven of the museum’s current exhibitions in the Asian wing.

AUCTIONS

“The Great Within: Photographs of India and the British Raj in the 19th Century” at Sotheby’s New York
In addition to a slate of Asia Week auctions, Sotheby’s is also hosting a selling exhibition of 19th-century photographs of India, then a part of the British Empire. British Crown photo historian and collector Clark Worswick has printed these images from rare original prints he has acquired over the last six decades, taken by photographers operating in colonial India such as Colin Murray, Felice Beato, Raja Deen Dayal, and Bourne and Shepherd, one of the world’s first photography studios.

“Asian Works of Art Auction” at iGavel
Ahead of its post-Asia Week sale, online auction house iGavel takes its offerings, which include ancient bronze vessels and jade carvings, offline, to an exhibition in East Harlem.

“Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art, Including Selections from the Elizabeth and Willard Clark Collection” at Bonhams New York
Bonhams is hyping up a gilded 15th-century Tibetan sculpture of the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara that could go for $1 million–1.5 million). A new translation of an inscription on the work identifies it as the work of Sonam Gyaltsen, a previously unidentified master craftsman. According to the lot description, this discovery undermines “the ever-more questionable narrative of the ubiquitous ‘anonymous’ Tibetan artisan,” and a number of other major gilt bronze works are now being attributed to Gyaltsen.

“The Maitri Collection of Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art” at Bonhams New York
The Hindu and Buddhist virtue of “maitri,” or friendliness, serves as unifying theme for this evening sale of over 40 paintings and sculptures from across Asia. Among the highlights, don’t miss the dancing Chola bronze figure of Krishna from the collection of John D. Rockefeller III, estimated at $300,000–500,000.

“South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art” at Christie’s New York
For those less interested in the ancient sales, Christie’s offers a selection of works by modern masters such as Syed Haider Raza and Tyeb Mehta. Vasudeo S. Gaitonde‘s Untitled (1980) is expected to be among the sale’s top lots, fetching up to $2.8 million. The artist created his complex, multilayered paintings through an all-consuming, meditative process that only allowed him to finished five or six works in a given year.

A rare number five Jun tripod “Narcissus” bowl from the Ming Dynasty (circa 14th–15th century). Estimate $150,000–200,000. Photo courtesy of Christie’s New York.

“The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: The Linyushanren Collection, Part III” at Christie’s New York
The third part of the sale of Japan’s private Linyushanren collection, previously billed as “the most comprehensive private collection of Song ceramics ever to appear at auction,” is offering bowls, vases, and other vessels painted and glazed in a wide variety of colors. A bold purple “Narcissus” bowl from the Ming Dynasty (circa 14th–15th century) could fetch as much as $200,000.

“The Richard R. & Magdalena Ernst Collection of Himalayan Art” at Sotheby’s New York
Richard and Magdalena Ernst spent decades collecting Himalayan & Southeast Asian painting and sculpture, now on offer in one of Sotheby’s “most significant single-owner sales” of international art, according to the house. Highlights include a rare and well-preserved 13th-century Tibetan thangka, an iconographic lesson in Buddhist teachings. The high estimate for the brilliantly colored cloth painting is $800,000.

“The Chew Family Collection of Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy” at Sotheby’s New York
Qiu Yonghe (Thomas Chew) and Wu Zhongying (Joan Chew) immigrated from China to California, where they ran an import/export business specializing in Chinese antiques—which put them in prime position to amass their extraordinary collection. Among the top lots, keep an eye on Zhang Daqian‘s Gazing Water and Sky After Rain In Splashed Color (1968), which features the artist’s original “splashed color” technique, an important contribution to traditional Chinese painting. It could bring in as much as $1.8 million.

Location: Sotheby’s, 1334 York AvenueDate and time: March 22, 5 p.m.

See the full list of participating Asia Week galleries and their exhibitions below: